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Most Stressful Jobs 2012

Bring up the word stress in a conversation and you’d better clear your schedule for the next hour.

A whopping 40 percent of American workers say their jobs are very or extremely stressful, according to the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health.

Of course, some jobs are more stressful than others. Job-search portal CareerCast has once again crunched the statistics and come up with its list of the 10 most stressful jobs in America.

"Not all jobs are created equal when it comes to stress levels," said Tony Lee, publisher of CareerCast.comand JobsRated.com."Probably the one thing that’s overriding is the amount of control you have. People who have the least amount of control have the most amount of stress — they’re reacting to whatever is happening around them."

Many of the most stressful jobs involved peril and significant hazard, whether it’s coming into contact with hazardous materials or having other people’s lives in your hands. In all, CareerCast used 11 criteria to come up with its list: travel, income outlook/growth potential, deadlines, working in the public eye, competitiveness, physical demands, environmental conditions, hazards encountered, own life at risk, life of another at risk, and meeting the public.

Think your job is on the list? Click ahead to read about the 10 most stressful jobs of 2012.